Govt slide to Commander/Officer's length??

[knight0334]

You guys can probably help me with this,

In an effort to lessen the overall size of my 1911A1 Govt CCW piece, I thought about changing the barrel, slide and spring assemblies to the shorter Commander or Officers models for occasions when concealment matters most.

Can this be done?  how short can I go if so?

I can get a 4 1/4" and a 4 1/2" slide & barrel really inexpensive from a FFL friend. ...I'd just rather know ahead of time before I lay some money down.

[sureshot2040]

hey pard
im thinking abt doing the same thing
i dont see why it would be a problem if you are changing slide/barrel, spring guide and springs
btw im in the market for a commander length slide/assembly
you gonna buy em both from your ffl friend/?
 :grin:
sureshot

[Iowegan]

There are only a few differences in a Commander sized frame (4.25" barrel) and a full sized frame (5" barrel). The Commander frames have a 3/4" shorter spring shroud but it isn't necessary to cut a full sized frame down. Purely a looks thing. Inside the gun there are some required changes: a Commander recoil spring will be 2 lbs heavier and shorter. The spring guide and cap are also shorter. Naturally, the barrel, barrel bushing, and slide are shorter too.

Brownell's stocks the 18lb Commander recoil spring, spring cap, spring guide, and bushing if you don't feel like chopping down existing parts.